Documentary in Production Examines Alaska Native Suicide

Producers of "We Breathe Again" hope for festival exposure

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By Bill McAllister
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Story Created: Feb 5, 2013 at 4:52 PM AKDT

Story Updated: Feb 6, 2013 at 11:10 AM AKDT

ANCHORAGE - A movie on the high suicide rate among Alaska Natives will wrap up production this spring.

"We Breathe Again" is a full-length documentary that has been in production off and on since 2007 (scroll down for a preview).

It looks at the rapid political, cultural and social changes that have fostered despair among Alaska Natives.

It is being directed by New York City filmmaker Marsh Chamberlain, who has a relative who married into an Inupiat family.

More than 283 hours of film has been shot, with a final shoot planned for May.

The producers hope to enter the film in major festivals next year, get it screened on public television and distributed on DVD.

Evon Peter of Gwanzhii, LLC, the executive producer of "We Breathe Again," said, “The title came from the idea of like someone being constrained under water, not really being able to fully breathe, fully live, and wrestling and struggling with a lot of different things in life, and the idea of you know breaking out of that condition and being able to take deep full breaths again and to fully live as a people."

The projected budget for the film is about $285,000, a little more than half of which has been raised, with a campaign ongoing on Kickstarter.com.

To hear the entire interview with Evon Peter, click here.

We Breathe Again Preview from Gwanzhii on Vimeo.

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